Saturday, December 26, 2015

I'm
often ask what it take to be an entrepreneur.My answer is always the same:looking for the opportunity and then having the persistence and
follow-through to make it happen.Know
yourself and follow your passions.

When
looking for the opportunity, you want to solve a "pain point." Can
you create a solution to a problem that other people don't want to do or can't
do ...can you eliminate their pain. What are some things that are causing you
pain and that you would be willing to pay other to solve? The more of a pain, the more valuable your
solution. Can you be innovative and creatively solve the problem. The answer may be just around the corner.

The
find pain points, you need to become aware of others and what others are
experiencing. Observe, interact and
interview others as to what things they don’t like and what they would like to
be easier or simpler. You don’t have to
solve the pain point at this time; just make a list of your observations and
interactions.

By
writing these ideas down you are allowing your conscience and subconscious to
percolate on these problems, looking for solutions. You can later evaluate you list to see which
are most viable for you to solve, given your strengths, passions and networks. Keep
that notebook next to your bed so in the middle of the night, you can write
down your solutions.

Keep
up on social and technological trends.
Read newspapers, magazines, listen to public radio, podcast, and what
the news looking for trends and inventions.
Imagine the future and how this new technology will be used in the
future to solve problems. Can you
combine two or more existing technologies or product to help ease the pain of
others?

Think
outside the box and say yes to all possibilities. Suspend your current reality and create a
reality where anything is possible. Do
not limit yourself by self-imposed constraints. This will help you spur on your
creativity to come up with solutions.
Write down your solutions so you can research the possibilities and
evaluate the probable success at a later time

Entrepreneurship requires dedication, persistence, long hours and an
uncertain future. You have to know your
strengths and weaknesses to be successful.
Hire or partner with people who complement your strength, not people
with the same strengths. Tom Rath’s StrengthsFinder
2.0 is a great source to help you uncover your strengths.

Know
your passions and what drives you. Your
passions will help you overcome obstacles and keep you going when others say no
and think you are crazy. You passions will keep you working 60+ hours a week. To
discover your passions, what would you do if money was not an option? What do
you currently do where time flies by? Pay attention to your daily life to find
your passions and strengths.

Entrepreneurship
is turning your passions into profits by solving other’s pain points and
creating a product or service of value.
When you turn your passions into profit, you never have to work another
day in your life.

Friday, July 31, 2015

When taking on the topic of
personal finance, I love hearing the stories where that voice speaks to you
from the heart and leads you on the path of happy and home. We made a visit
today to Belle Chèvre in Elkmont, Alabama and met the
charismatic and delightful owner, Ms. Tasia Malakasis(Chief Cheese
Officer). I first learned about this impressive lady in perusing old
publications of Organic Gardening. She left a very
successful and financially rewarding career in Internet technologies to venture
back to her roots and become a queen in the world of award-winning cheese
making. Since that article, she has appeared in countless magazines, news
shows, and newspapers and now author of two culinary books.

Her list of accomplishments are
impressive but upon meeting with her in person, I found that gold nugget I love
most that I see in those who pursue their passion -that positive and happy
energy that radiates from inside them and just makes them glow.

She discovered her culinary
passions by taking non-credit courses at the Culinary Institute of America
while on a sabbatical from her corporate career. This led her to her discovery
of Belle Chèvre cheese. She eventually left New York City, a big pay
check, and the stress of corporate life to volunteer at Bell Chèvre and learned
the art of cheese making. After 6 months, she purchased Belle Chèvre, has
grown the company considerably, increasing the product portfolio,
sales and distribution to many national retail stores.

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Wherever we turn - national or local news, neighbor or
co-worker - we hear about those who have been the target of state and federal
tax fraud.

The number of fraudulent tax returns is on the rise as criminals use stolen names and Social Security Numbers to forge
W-2 information on electronically filed tax returns. Most people do not realize that they have
been a victim of identity theft until they try to file their tax return and discover
that a criminal beat them to their refund.

The federal tax return fraud rate ranges between of 1% to
2%. States report an increase in fraudulent tax returns this year of 50% to 3,700%.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

The Affordable Care
Act(ACA) – also known as Obamacare – is a law enacted to ensure that all
Americans have access to affordable health insurance. It supports discounts(known as tax credits) on
government-sponsored health insurance plans, and expanded the Medicaid
assistance program to include more people. The law requires most Americans to have insurance by Feb 15
or pay a fine at tax time. The Obama administration extended the deadline to
April 30, which is the end of the tax season, so to allow people who discover
they would owe a fine, to still sign up for coverage.

The Wall
Street Journal reported that many uninsured are choosing the penalty over the
opportunity to enroll in a
healthcare insurance plan. Choosing to go without health insurance puts your
assets at risk. If you consider yourself healthy, you can select a plan with
low premiums. You will have higher out-of-pocket costs at the time of care than
with more expensive plans, but you will still have protection against an acute
episode of costly care, which if unprotected, can drive you to bankruptcy.

If you do not have health care insurance
through your employer, and you are not covered by Medicare or Medicaid, then
you can buy a healthcare plan onwww.healthcare.gov if your state participates in the
federal program or else from your state’s health care website. For access to an
up-to-date information on each state’s health insurance marketplace profile,
check outhttp://kff.org/state-health-marketplace-profiles/.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Personal Finance and Passion
– we love it when the two come together. We meet people in all walks of life who
exemplify the philosophy: If you are
doing what you love, you never have to work a day in your life. As we approach Valentine’s weekend,
we are reminded how joyful that endeavor can be-- for the entrepreneur following their passion as well as those benefiting from their labor of love.

Through our Walker Homestead CSA(Community Supported Agriculture),
we have the great privilege of hosting aFarmer’s Tabledinner this Valentines weekend. Chef
Chris Grebner is an extremely talented culinary artist. His passion is to bring
together the food producer with the food consumer, over a four to seven course
meal on the property where the food is produced. These evenings are exquisite
with an eclectic group of people coming together to enjoy meeting new people,
fine foods and conversation, and having their own beverage of choice in the beauty
of a country setting.

Pursuit of his passion benefits his livelihood, that of the food
producer and those who have the privilege to participate in his highly sought-after dinning events.